There’s no question about it, without the right kind of hype, most blockbuster movies, products, tech-toys and goodies from the global brands we love wouldn’t succeed in achieving the record breaking sales they attain year after year.

Hype–it isn’t just being shouted from product brands. Everyone from media companies, tech enthusiasts and yes even journalists who have their own personal “agendas”  have been known to exacerbate hype.

For those looking to understand how to create positive hype, you need not look any further than Apple; specifically at the launch of the iPhone.  At the time of the launch, Steve Jobs did two things phenomenally well. The first was to deliver a product that the mass market wanted, with a minimalistic and an insanely sexy design. Second and probably more important is the fact that the hype surrounding the product lived up to user expectations. In a sense, Steve Jobs reshaped the thought of what a smartphone should be.

Hype vs. Marketing

What is hype? What is marketing? And more importantly what separates these two opposing concepts?

The word Hype seem to have involve into evoking a negative connotation; consumers of information are very “anti-hype.” This is largely due to marketing fatigue (too many people making outlandish promises). In other words, over-promising, and under delivering. In reality, hype is defined as: Deception; especially, loud, exaggerated promotion or publicity.

In contrast, marketing can be described as the art of delivering the right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price. Of course there’s a lot more to it than that, and a complete post can be dedicated specifically to the exact definition of marketing.

Success in hype and marketing can only occur when both strategies feed off each other and a bold promise is backed up with legitimate proof upon delivery of the product or service.

To set your upcoming app’s hype-factor in motion, I’ve rounded up a few tricks of the trade that are sure to help you build up towards the delivery of your bold mobile app promise.

Pre-Launch Pages

We’ve all seen the epic words: Coming Soon, Available Shortly and Be the First to Know, splattered across the screen, and I’m not talking big budget movie releases here, I’m of course talking about apps. Creating a pre-launch website for your app is a perfect way to get a feel for your apps upcoming success while stimulating your potential end-user’s download trigger finger.

Obviously, websites (either pre-launch or post-launch) can be coded from scratch line by line, but that can be quite costly and not to mention time consuming. On the flip side, there are many free online website builders such as Unbounce, Moonfruit, Weebly, Bluevoda, Wix and more to help you get the job done. Mobile app pre-launch pages are meant to do one thing: entice potential end-users.

Here are a few important notes to keep in mind in regards to creating pre-launch / teaser pages.

• Allow people to get notified by e-mail as soon as your app goes live.
• Start blogging and place a link to your blog on your pre-launch page as well.
• People like sharing, so allow them to share by including links to the leading social networks.
• Make real friends, nothing is more effective than building a good reputation and working with others to increase exposure to your content.

Facebook Fans

The old saying is true; no one likes to be the first person to arrive at a party. When it comes to Facebook pages however, no one likes to be the 20^th, 30^th, or even 50^th person at the party. To really set the sparks flying with Facebook pages, chances are you’re going to have to set a few creative paid ads in motion. Ads increase Likes; it’s as easy as that.

According to a study by DDB Worldwide and Opinionway Research of more than 1,600 people ages 18 to 60 , 75% of those who liked a brand on Facebook did so because of an ad or another form of direct outreach.

Truth be told, introducing visitors to your Facebook page by way of an ad is the easy part, the tricky and definitely more important part is engaging and motivating them into becoming active long-term participants, and in a sense, turning into brand ambassadors.

Graphical Work

Normally when you release a new product or service, you’ll usually want to have full creative control or work with the best freelance graphics designers that are available for the project. The truth is that phenomenal graphic designs can be incredibly cheap, if you know where to look.

If you’re not yet sure what you’re looking for or where to start, you could try talking with the designers in the 99designs/crowdSPRING forums.  It’s as simple as starting a new project and asking for a concept sketch first instead of a fully designed graphical work. You can tailor these projects any way you want. Additionally services such as Fiverr are a great starting point. What’s even more amazing about Fiverr is that there’s no lack of talented video creators who are ready to blow you away with an insane video demo for your app. Which leads us to my next trick of the trade…

Sneak Peak Video Trailers

Video trailers are designed to do one thing, hype viewers up to a level where they’re anxious to shell out more money to watch a movie. I previously wrote a post called 6 Tips to Create Captivating App Trailers. Memorable app trailers create an instant “want” factor for the viewers within a few short seconds, without giving away too much of course.

With iOS apps, taking screenshots of your app via the device is as simple as pressing the power and home buttons together. Screenshots are automatically saved in your Camera Roll, so make sure you grab the most impressive visuals of your app.

Next, you’ll want to sign-up to Animoto if you haven’t already done so; upload your screenshots, select a music track and complete your video trailer.  Going Pro on Animoto gives you the option to download the video in HD which I really suggest you do.

The Bottom Line

Understand the impact of positive hype, but focus on establishing a sustainable business. Above all, remember this: Have Integrity. Conduct your business in the most ethical and honest way possible. Always remember that no hype or sale is worth ruining your reputation. People appreciate honesty, and when you show them that you are a person of integrity, people will want to do business with you and possibly, even download your app.

What are you app hype tricks of the trade? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us via Twitter @W3i and @OrenTodoros

Oren Todoros, Consultant, W3i, LLC
Oren has more than 9 years experience in online marketing and now specializes in app marketing.

In part one in this two-part series, we focused on how the iOS operating system impacts user acquisition for apps. In part two, we’ll explore how the Android operating system impacts user acquisition for apps.

Android devices are more customizable and, therefore, more complicated to use, lacking the elegant interface of iOS apps. They are also generally less expensive, thus becoming more mainstream – especially in global markets. Google operates in a much more open environment, making it easier on the developer but causing some chaos in the marketplace. For example, developers can use multiple billing systems, making it more difficult for a user to purchase an app and causing lower conversions for app developers utilizing premium billing or in-app purchasing. They also have ad-hoc quality control for apps with minimal central vetting, creating a confusing marketplace and major piracy problems. In a recent article, my company reported that premium developers are seeing 100 pirated app installs for every one legitimate paid app install. For developers, app development and porting can be more difficult due to the fragmentation of devices, while device manufacturers can turn off features, adding additional complexity.

Key Points About User Acquisition on Android

1. Android Market is not as influential as Apple’s App Store in app discovery by users, so strategies to rank high are not as impactful. Also, the Android Market handles rankings a bit differently than iOS, causing bursting campaigns to be less impactful.
2. In addition to Android Market, app developers should consider taking the time to publish their apps in key third-party app stores, like Amazon’s Appstore and SlideME. These third-party app stores will often offer favorable terms to entice developers, creating another meaningful alternative user acquisition channel.
3. Similar to iOS, third-party ad networks, especially those focused on apps, perform well to drive user acquisition. Since payment-based business models are not performing as well for app developers, there is an even greater supply of ad inventory, which is driving down the rates versus iOS. Expect the cost to acquire a user to be less on Android.
4. Carrier and handset partner deals. It is reported that Google is sharing advertising revenue with carriers and handset partners that use Android.

Android Demographics

Android users skew male at 73 percent compared to 57 percent on the iPhone and 54 percent on the iPod touch, according to a chart by AdMob.

Additionally, Mobile Mix shows 65 percent of impressions on connected devices are on smartphones, 18 percent are on connected devices, and 17 percent are on feature phones. Of the smartphone OS Mix, 54 percent were Android, 26 percent were iOS, 15 percent were RIM, and 5 percent were other.

The more you know about the device and platform, the more effective you will be in promoting your app. The smartphone market is changing rapidly, so it pays to do your research and adapt your user acquisition strategy based upon the audience you are targeting.

Rob Weber, Senior Vice President of Mobile Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over ten, profitable years evolving W3i in the consumer application industry.

Good day, App Marketers, we previously wrote about how to improve your ranking in the App Store.  I just listened to a 30+ minute podcast by a couple app developers with a few more tips that boiled down to the following:

1.  Be realistic and follow the money.  It is tough to get started marketing apps these days.  If you find a niche, it is all-out war to conquer the space.  The title of your app is very important; try to capture a key search term. Colin from Spreadsong mentioned that his success was due to recognizing that “free books” should be in the title to capture the searches for free books.  He then tweaked the title to Free Books – Classics to capture the audience of the competitive app.  Rishi & Anirudh from Fliplab mentioned that they created one of their first apps around a “hot trend” in the UK—Barclay bikes (a new start-up business) and received a tremendous amount of  press.  They also mentioned that the app was high quality and offered the user value.

2.  Their second tip was focusing on the icons.
You MUST have an icon that stands out and gets attention.  The first icon for Free Books used loud  colors—red and yellow but was of fairly low quality so they felt it did the job initially but also turned off some of the audience.  In order to succeed in the current app stores you need pop, quality and brand.  Colin recommends comparing the app to the top ranking apps in the app store charts to see if it pops out so it catches potential new users eyes.  Think  outside the box and do something different—what do you have to lose?

London Cycle App Icon

Talking Gremlin App Icon-Make sure it POPS!

Free Books App-Quality images draw quality app users.

To listen to the entire podcast: http://www.appteardown.com/

Do you have any additional tips on getting better ranking in the app stores?  If so, please respond in comments.  Contact W3i to consult on monetization models for your app.  We would love to share what we’ve learned in monetization, distribution and optimization; and will work with you to grow your app business.

Debby Manthei, Director of Marketing Communications, W3i, LLC

Debby’s focus is on app marketing—strategies for increasing user acquisition and monetization for mobile and desktop apps. 

One of the most useful features for iOS users is the ability to have relevant content delivered right to the device.  Push notifications allow you to send messages directly to people who have installed your app (whether the app is running or not).  Sending push notifications is a great way to engage your users and provide value.

 If you’re an app developer thinking about adding push notifications (and you should be!), you may have a build vs. buy decision to make.  Is it better to purchase push notification services from a 3rd party provider or does it make more sense to build them in house?  There is a great deal to consider when making this decision and no single answer for everyone but let’s take a look at some things you should consider.

 The Basic Push Notification Architecture

There are three basic parts to push notifications: client registration, push notification provider, and the notification service itself.

 Client Registration and Tracking

The process for sending push notifications starts with some code in your app that registers the device with the notification service and acquires a unique ID for your app on a given device called a device token.  The device token is used to identify the target for your notifications.  It is the responsibility of the developer to store and manage the device tokens.  

 Push Notification Provider

The push notification provider is a server process created by the app developer to compose the notification package.  The notification package includes the device token for a client application and the payload message. The provider server sends the notification to the Apple Push Notification Service which in turn pushes the notification to the device.

 Apple Push Notification Service (APNS)

The Apple Push Notification Service sends the payload message to devices. If a notification for an app arrives when that app is not running, the device alerts the user that the application has data waiting for it.

 Feedback Service

The Feedback Service is another service provided by Apple.  You’ll need to write the software to call the feedback service and get a list of device tokens for devices that no longer respond to your push notifications.  In other words, if your app is uninstalled from a device, it will no longer respond to your push notifications and Apple gives you the device token for this device.  Apple requires that developers check the feedback service periodically to keep Apple Push Notification Service from having to process undeliverable notifications.

 Building the Push Notification Provider and Feedback Service

If you are planning on implementing push notifications in your app in house, you will need to develop the Push Notification Provider to call APNS as well as build the software to call the feedback service.  Apple’s developer site provides detailed specifications for calling this service as well as the specs for constructing the notification payload.  It’s a fairly complicated process but fortunately there are several resources available to developers to ease the development burden.

 Open Source Libraries for APNS

There are a couple of popular open source projects that may save you time and headaches implementing APNS on your server.  One of these is built with PHP whereas the other is built with Microsoft .Net (C-Sharp).  Both are solid and fairly well maintained and documented so you may want to pick one of these based on your development skill set and deployment strategy.

 For a PHP platform there is APNS-PHP (http://code.google.com/p/apns-php/).  APNS-PHP is a full set of open source PHP classes to interact with APNS.

 For a Microsoft based platform there is APNS-Sharp (https://github.com/Redth/APNS-Sharp).  APNS-Sharp is a free, open source, independent and mono compatible C#/.NET Library for interacting with APNS.

 Push Notification Service Providers

Until recently, your only option for sending push notifications to APNS was to build it yourself.  Today there are a few companies that, for a fee, make implementing push notifications much easier.

 Urban Airship Push Notifications (http://urbanairship.com/) and Xtify Push (http://www.xtify.com/) provide hosted services for sending notifications, device token management, tools for constructing your payload, and more.  Both companies provide a developer SDK for implementing push notifications.  In addition to iOS Push notifications, both of these services can target Android and RIM as well.

 Pricing varies by volume of messages sent so it’s a good idea to have an idea of how many messages you plan to send now and in the future.   All in all, pricing is very competitive.

 If you’re looking to get push notifications out quickly and avoid the development effort of implementing a push notification provider yourself, be sure to check out these companies.  If you have any additional insight on push notifications, please add it in the comments.

The W3i team has been working closely to analyze and understand the REAL value of users based on traffic source. We measured lifetime value (LTV) based on a series of retention and monetization metrics and together we found that traffic source plays a huge role in quality, no real surprise there…but what was more interesting is that some pockets of incentivized traffic actually performed better than overall organic traffic. This discovery provides a counter to the popular argument that incentivized traffic is not worth the same as organic or non-incentivized. This gives credibility and validity to incentivized traffic. When a developer and distribution network understands traffic source, real value can be provided through incented installs. We hope this data will help educate platform providers and mobile app media buyers on the importance of understanding real value variable forms of marketing including incentivized application installs. If we are intelligent on our media buys, we can find pockets of profitable and valuable incentivized installs. How do we know this? Check the numbers below on one of W3i’s apps.

Day 30 Retention vs. Traffic Source:

We looked at day 30 retention rates per traffic source for one or our burst campaigns with a popular game application. We also calculated the volume per traffic source and assigned a color to indicate which application that traffic was coming from. As you can see below, the top paid volume source produced the 2^nd best 30 day retention rate. However, the second top paid volume source performed the worst! Clearly the second top paid traffic source did not produce a positive return for the buy!

 Revenue per 1000 users vs. traffic source:

In addition to retention we also looked at average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU) per 1000 over a determined time frame. While we couldn’t disclose the specific traffic source each source is represent by its own letter. As you can see, revenue per user is dramatically impacted depending on traffic source.

Organic vs. incentivized source:

When comparing overall organic traffic to incented traffic, we found pockets of incentivized traffic are actually more valuable than organic traffic. Take a peek below at our calculations comparing the top RPDAU sources compared to all overall organic sources. 

 So what does all of this mean?

As a Media Buyer, you should do your homework! Work with an application distribution partner such as W3i to help you acquire users effectively and remember not all traffic is the same when it comes to incentive installs. Finally, don’t underestimate the value of incent traffic. If you are smart and work with the right partner you just might find pockets of highly profitable, high performing incentivized traffic.

If ideas are a dime a dozen, then app ideas are worth about a nickel. Luckily, the App Store has changed the face of business forever. But let’s be honest, developing a quality mobile app is not the quick and easy endeavor that far too many individuals seem to believe. Sure, if you’re an independent programmer or a lean mean start up machine you can develop an app on a fairly low budget without much effort. But the ideas most people come up with are nothing to run and tell your friends about.

It takes a lot more than an idea to go from app  concept to strategy to development to downloads and recurring usage. After all, that’s where you wish your app ends up.

So what does it really take to create a successful app? For a detailed answer to that you can read my 5 tips to make your mobile app better and The big business of tiny apps posts. But I will reiterate this; don’t expect to succeed on an idea alone. Heck, don’t even expect to succeed on your first app! Determination, implementation and strategy are what it’s really all about.

Testing the Waters – Controlled Beta Launch

Product launches are always a scary experience, no matter how much testing you “think” you may have done in advance. Before unleashing an app out into the wild, one thing many app developers do is something called, controlled beta.

One way to go about launching a successful controlled beta phase is by using services such as test-flight which offers free over the air beta distribution. Test-flight allows you to create a 2-way communications channel between your development team and your initial beta testers. Think of it as a friendly way to work out the kinks.

An alternative method to controlling an app’s beta launch is making the app available only in select countries, IE launching the app in Canada only or Europe only. Of course, this mean taking into consideration localization issues such as languages and cultural trends.

Full Scale Launch – Guns A ‘Blazing

Once everything is said and done; it’s time to take your app to the masses, which usually means the US app store. One thing that most developers seem to forget is that there are A LOT of other developers out there in the exact same situation, looking for creative ways to increase eyeballs for their apps. Getting to know the developer community is crucial as they can be a great resource to introducing your app to their network and vice-versa. Don’t underestimate the effect of word of mouth app marketing mixed with a targeted burst campaign which W3i is famous for.

Takeaways

Set deadlines, plan everything , track everything from the early development stage right through to the launch. That includes getting to know the bloggers you’ll be reaching out to for reviews and thanking them when (and if) they do. However you decide to catapult your app out there, make sure you’ve thought it all out on paper (or stickies!) before you ever get to the design or build stage.

At their deepest level, video trailers are designed to get people excited and capture their attention for a short period of time. Done right, app trailers, can really heighten the anticipation factor prior to an app’s big release. The most memorable trailers create an instant “want” factor for the viewers within a few short seconds, without giving away too much.

With this post we wanted to dive into the art of creating captivating app trailers as well as share a few that have caught our attention. So without further ado, here are our 6 tips to create the perfect app trailer that’s sure to impress.

1 – Know who your intended audience is. Before jumping straight into the creation process, it’s a good idea to know who your intended end users are so you’ll know how to best proceed with the rest of the app trailer creation process.

2 – Create a storyboard for your trailer: You can use editing software or do it the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper. Yes those still exist. If you’re clear with your concept, it’ll save you time and frustration at the computer later.

3 – Use memorable sound to heighten the impact of the video. It’s always a good idea to use actual sounds from the app itself, especially if you’ve invested in good sound effects, but you can always enhance the action with a few extra sound clips purchased on any of the dozens of royalty free sound effect sites.

4 – Alternatively, the right sound score can set the mood for your intended users. If you’re app isn’t a game or very visually stimulating, set the pace for your video with sound score to liven it up!

5 – Play a section from the app, without giving away too much. People love knowing what to expect, so give them a small taste of the app, but remember, give them something to look forward to.

6 – Remember, Funny, Scary, Exciting, Warm and Fuzzy or Dramatic. If you’re app trailer doesn’t evoke at least one of these emotions, something’s missing.

Bonus tip – Watch other app trailers and take notes. Search for the trailers to some of your favorite apps and see how they present their apps to their audience. You might find a common link that has been proven to work, such as quick cut scenes or voiceovers.

If you read just about any mobile centric website or blog, you’re bound to come across tons of “How To” tips on generating exposure for your app. Heck, I’ve even written a few myself. With this post, I felt it was equally important to look at the flip side of doing things right and give you a taste of what happens when it all goes terribly wrong.

If you’re not careful, you might find yourself fumbling through the playing field, and the last thing you want to do during game time is drop the ball.

To avoid a few of the most common mistakes new app developers make, I’ve rounded up a checlist of what NOT to do.

Not Planning Ahead

Far too many app developers who receive the sacred “Your App Has Been Approved” email from Apple immediately feel a rush of excitement which in most cases is followed by the “OK what now!?” phase. Avoid putting yourself in this position. It will only stress you into making poor marketing decisions. Prior to your app’s launch, you should already have a detailed game plan in place. A few of the questions you should ask yourself as you prepare your marketing plan are:

• Who will you be reaching out to?
• Who are the leading bloggers in your app’s niche?
• What do you want to highlight about your app?
• Does your app have a video demo you can leverage for extra visibility?
• What are your download expectations?
• What are your short and long term goals?
• How many downloads do you need to break even?

Failing to run thorough QA (Quality Assurance)

Your app has one opportunity to make the right impression. Buggy apps lead to bad reviews, which in turn keeps other potential users away. App testing is an essential part of an app’s life cycle, there’s no reason to leave the testing up to your end users. So what should you be on the look-out for when it comes to testing your app prior to launch? The answer is anything that threatens the value of your app such as: bugs, lack of output quality, lag time, crashes, lack of support on various OS versions and so on.

Over Promise – Under Deliver

Over promising and under delivering is a surefire way to lose credibility and that is one thing that is incredibly hard to win back.  We’ve all been in situations where we thought; “couldn’t they have put a little extra effort in it?” Avoid over promising and under delivering like the plague. On the contrary, if you can over-deliver and give more than is expected you can expect to become much more successful. There’s a fatal gap between intentions and actions you don’t want your app to fall into. I can also sum up this issue with factoring in user experience. Winning apps deliver quality user experience.

Avoid user feedback

The one thing that users like more than a good app is telling others about them. The same goes for bad apps and bad user experience. Social media channels are where it’s happening in terms of users sharing feedback. If you aren’t searching Google blog search, Twitter search, LinkedIn, Facebook and Forums to find out what your users are saying about your app, you’re missing out on a world of knowledge. This is especially true if you’re planning on releasing future updates for you app which has been proven to help maintain the lifetime value of your app. The feedback your end users will supply is priceless.

Guessing Your App’s Price Point

Every day I receive emails like this:

I’ve got my first iPhone app coming out next month. I was thinking $0.99. Would it be advantageous to start higher so I have some room to come down later?

Assuming that your app will sell like hotcakes at the minimal $0.99 price point is not a strategy. By failing to have a solid monetization strategy means you’re potentially leaving money on the table. Free is a compelling price point, especially if your app will monetize via in-app purchases. A rule of thumb to remember is that, it’s always easier to go down than up.

Which leads us to - It Takes Time To Get It Right!

I’ll be the first to admit, it’s not always easy getting things right the first time around. Between the development processes, the graphical work, the content and marketing strategy, launching your first app can feel like a balancing act. If you’re planning to launch a big budget app on your first go around, you might want to test the waters first with a low budget test app. That being said, don’t be afraid to take some well calculated risks along the way.

Now that you’ve read through our top 5 ways to fumble your app’s marketing launch, let’s hear it from you. What have you done considerably wrong through the process of launching your own apps? Share your stories in the comments or reach out to us via Twitter @W3i.

orginally published on ClickZ February 10,2011

The top ranking apps in the Apple iOS App Store get most of the traffic. It now takes more than 50,000 U.S. daily installs to get into the Top 25 Free Apps ranking in the App Store. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a valuable endeavor – and now there is App Store Optimization (ASO), which will prove to be just as valuable. Here are tactics to get your app to the top of the charts:

Advertising – Burst Campaigns

Plan burst advertising campaigns so that your traffic peaks in a short timeframe, which will jumpstart your App Store rankings and result in maximizing organic traffic to your app. Promotional campaigns of four consecutive days are more likely to have the biggest payoff. Weekends have higher traffic than weekdays in the App Store, so start your campaigns on Thursday so you get your top ranking at the start of the weekend for a natural 20 percent lift. One insider secret is that nearly every top ranking app in the App Store is using cost-per-install ad networks. Cost-per-install ad networks are the most cost-effective way to drive burst promotions for your app.

SEO

Do your research. What do the top 100 ranking apps in your category have in common? Try to identify what users are searching for and use those keywords when promoting your app, starting with the title and description – possibly even the developer name. Be careful not to use any special characters in your title as this will have a negative effect on how your name appears in the URL. Be sure to include “Free “or “Lite” if appropriate. Create quality images and label them with your keywords. Launch a website for your app and promote the app on social sites. Start networking with app review sites and other online communities like LinkedIn Groups (see comments below). The more places a consumer can find and read about your app, the better. Leverage your social network by integrating Facebook Connect into your app and request user ratings. Create a video featuring the “value” you are offering the user, post it on YouTube, and use the links in press releases and requests to app reviewers.

Carefully plan your iTunes Web preview. Again, use keywords, as these pages are indexed in the search engines and can provide valuable organic traffic as your app gains popularity. Many times the iTunes Web preview is listed higher than your app’s home page, as they are very search engine-friendly. The URL, page title, meta description, meta keywords, and the H1 tag should all be loaded with the app name/keywords. As app popularity grows, so will links to your preview page. Currently the iTunes preview page use a “no follow” attribute for links to the app’s home page, so there is no benefit to the developer. Another tip: mention a popular app that is related to the app for more SEO mojo.

Study direct marketers to improve your copywriting, as they are experts in creating calls to action that capture the user’s interest.

Promotion: Dropping the Price/Discounting

Take advice from the driver behind the successful Dr. Seuss apps, Michel Kripalani of Oceanhouse Media. He recommends discounting, but make sure it’s newsworthy enough to get media attention. He used a discounted $0.99 price point when the app was priced normally at $3.99 or 50 percent off for a discounted price of $1.99. Both were successful in driving installs and getting the media’s attention. The price needs to be “ridiculous enough” that people tell their friends. Listen to my interview with Michel for more details.

There are also app price trackers like AppShopper that identify when the price of an app drops. Users monitor and download apps from these price trackers, and they can give you a lift, especially in international markets.

PR

In line with what Michel mentioned above, you need to have a newsworthy story. Start by building a relationship with reporters and app review sites so that when your story is ready, they are a receptive audience. Start with developing a hit list of the sites/writers that are covering similar stories and then point out to the writer why your news adds value. Do the work for them providing copy, images, and video. The company I cofounded received 2.5 million impressions from media and social on the launch of our cost-per-install ad network using this strategy.

Cross-Promotion

Successful apps use cross-promotion to launch new apps. As you introduce new apps, launch by leveraging your existing apps popularity with an in-app promotion. Julian Farrior of Backflip Studios used his popular Paper Toss app to launch several apps including Ragdoll Blaster.

Luck and Trade Shows

There is a snowball effect once you have several apps in the App Store and become a recognized developer. Paul O’Connor of Appy Entertainment advises that Trucks and Skulls “roared out of the gate” due to Apple featuring the game in the very first week in iTunes. Paul advises to launch your app at key mobile events – like GDC Austin, timing the launch so that the app is available when the press hits. By getting media attention at the conference, your app could get the luck it needs to be featured in the App Store like Trucks and Skulls.

Planning and executing the launch of an app can catapult you to the top of the App Store rankings. Use SEO, advertising, promotion, PR, cross-promotion, and trade shows to your advantage, and with a whole lot of luck you can make it to the top. If you have any other tips to get to the top of the App Store, please add a comment.

Rob Weber, Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder, W3i, LLC
Rob is an Internet marketing pioneer with over ten, profitable years evolving W3i in the consumer application industry.

Appy Entertainment continues to deliver hit after hit for iOS with the launch of their most recent game, Candy Rush. Before that, Appy stormed the app store with the knock out success of Trucks & Skulls. We asked Appy’s Brand Director, Paul O’Connor, to share insights gained from Appy’s heritage of successes. In part one of the series O’Connor credits early press, for helping gain the attention of what he calls Customer Zero, aka Apple. Here’s why that matters in Paul’s own words.

App Marketing For Customer Zero

There’s a saying that children of privilege are born on third base, convinced they hit a triple. Appy Entertainment certainly is privileged in that we’ve received this consideration from Apple, but I think we’ve come by it through our labors. If we seem like an overnight success story, then it’s only because we’ve been at this for two years. And in that time we’ve learned a few things about making and positioning apps for attention (if not always for success).

The App Store puzzle is still all about discoverability. The only promotion we’ve found to be consistently effective in driving paid downloads has been promotion via iTunes, either as a “Staff Favorite” or a “New & Noteworthy” selection on iTunes itself. The reasons and process by which Apple makes these selections are a mystery to us, but we have found it useful to always consider Apple’s interests when positioning a new product. We try to make games that show off their hardware and overdeliver on play value for the money. Basically, we try to make it as easy as possible for “Customer Zero” to feature our games. We’ve worked hard to establish our reputation as a AAA quality developer, and have gone the extra mile to ensure our previous games like FaceFighter, Tune Runner, and Zombie Pizza were all titles Apple would be proud to feature — and so far, they’ve favored us with a feature for every original title we’ve published.

Part of this process is establishing credibility of the app, and reviews are (we think) a big part of that credibility. Positive notices at top sites like Slide-To-Play and 148Apps couldn’t help but improve the chances of Trucks & Skulls attracting Apple’s attention.

Apple’s Promotion

We knew we had a good game and we were getting good visibility, but we were still surprised (and delighted!) to receive a call from Apple expressing their preliminary and very non-binding interest in Trucks & Skulls. We tried not to count our chickens before they were hatched when Apple asked us to let them know our projected launch date, and to send them an early build for evaluation along with art assets for use in creating promotional materials. We of course responded to these requests immediately …

… and also didn’t say a word about what was happening to anyone outside of the company. We know from private conversation with other developers that merely being asked for these materials doesn’t guarantee that Apple is going to feature your app, and the person we spoke with on the phone was also careful to tell us that nothing was guaranteed and that our app still needed to pass through the normal App Store review process. We didn’t want to raise expectations, and we didn’t want to compromise any of the sensitive workings of Apple during this critical time. Basically they were hinting that they might do this incredibly cool thing for us; we were honored, and kept doing whatever we could to help that dream come true.

Paul O’Connor,Brand Director, Appy Entertainment
Paul is a 25-year veteran of the video game business, having designed games and directed teams for Electronic Arts, Interplay, Oddworld Inhabitants, and High Moon Studios. Paul commans Appy’s marketing, advertising and public relations efforts landing Appy’s games in the pages ofEntertainment Weekly, in high-profile reviews at Macworld and the Huffington Post, and in spotlight features in Apple’s iTunes store.